The Great Heavenly Demon Sovereign - Chapter 865

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 865.
The Executor identifies the target.
Then it is said to turn those adjacent to that target into puppets and attack them.
But are there distance limitations in creating puppets?
Can the Executor exert its power and create puppets even from thousands of miles away?
What happens if the target cannot be distinguished, or if there are two targets?
The sages of Murim conducted endless research to unravel such mysteries.
Through various tests and studies, they were able to uncover some of its secrets.
The Executor distinguishes its target using a unique human aura called heart-scent.
It processes only a single target.
Han Sang Ja, knowing this, had prepared a scheme to reveal the true nature of the Executor through the Heavenly Scent Body.
However, the problem was distance.
Bu Eunseol’s heart-scent was far too potent.
When placed side by side, the imitation Geuk Hye Bin had created was distinctly perceptible.
This was similar to how, no matter how exquisite a counterfeit might be,
its differences become glaringly obvious when placed alongside the original.
“We must maintain considerably greater distance than anticipated.”
To prepare for such circumstances,
Han Sang Ja had brought the Hyeonja Forest’s treasure—the Boundless Light Seal.
It was a treasure that allowed its owner to perceive and
measure all things that existed in the world.
And through measurements taken with the Boundless Light Seal,
they discovered that the two must be separated by at least six hundred thirty miles to avoid influencing each other’s auras.
“We must maintain at least six hundred thirty miles of separation, it seems.”
Han Sang Ja shook his head helplessly.
Even if one perfectly concealed their abilities and erased all traces, he wondered how the Executors would still find them—
The heart-scent was spreading so far and wide.
In the end, after much deliberation,
he located vast plains regions far removed from Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong.
Where Bu Eunseol and Geuk Hye Bin could conceal themselves, and if one formation collapsed,
the other would also collapse—the Heavenly Origin Reverse Step Formation, along with
fifteen mysterious formations passed down through Hyeonja Forest were installed.
With such distance between them, the Executor would certainly attempt to verify the identities of both.
Bu Eunseol could perceive the formation’s collapse instantly and aid Geuk Hye Bin.
“Now we must measure how quickly Ryeong Ju can traverse this distance.”
Han Sang Ja explained.
“You must travel only at a pace that preserves your stamina. If you arrive exhausted, you could suffer a counterattack from the Executor.”
Like a true sage, he always considered the worst-case scenario when devising strategies.
Whoooosh!
Bu Eunseol unfolded her lightness technique at a level that preserved both her stamina and strength.
At last, when he returned, Han Sang Ja nodded.
“If Ryeong Ju breaks through six hundred and thirty li while preserving his strength, it should take approximately a quarter of an hour.”
The maximum speed of the Extreme Shadow Step while maintaining stamina and moving at full force was roughly six hundred and twenty-five li per quarter hour.
If one drew upon all their martial power, including the Thunder Divine Technique, and deployed their lightness skill, they could cover a thousand li in a quarter hour.
However, the latter consumed considerable inner force.
Even if one arrived quickly, the probability of suffering a counterattack from the Executor was high.
“Can this formation array withstand the Executor for a quarter hour in this state?”
Bu Eunseol asked with a worried expression.
She wanted to deploy many troops in advance to protect Geuk Hye Bin.
But if she did that, it would only increase the Executor’s puppets—there was no way around it.
“It will be possible.”
Han Sang Ja spoke with conviction.
“The formation array of Ben Rim has the function of nullifying all forces scattered throughout Tianxia.”
“What if something goes wrong?”
“I will stake my life on it.”
Han Sang Ja made an overly bold guarantee.
“If So Jeong Ju comes to harm, I will offer my life.”
Bu Eunseol sensed something amiss but shook her head.
“There’s no need for that.”
Han Sang Ja smiled as if changing the subject.
“To be honest, I’m more concerned about whether Ryeong Ju can defeat the Executor in combat than whether the formation array will hold.”
Bu Eunseol had defeated countless formidable opponents until now.
But the Executor was an entirely different existence.
It imposed bizarre laws and wielded incomprehensible power.
Moreover, even the supreme masters who commanded Tianxia could not sense its presence, leaving them helpless.
These beings had existed for ages, concealing their true nature perfectly.
“I’m not thinking of winning.”
Bu Eunseol spoke honestly.
“But I have the resolve to die together with it.”
If I cannot eliminate the Executor?
Those around me would face endless threats to their lives.
I would sooner perish together with the Executor, but I am determined to eliminate it this time.
And if I emerge victorious, I intend to seize the threads leading to those behind it.
“Ryeong Ju, you are always so confident.”
“I simply live one day at a time.”
“Doesn’t everyone live one day at a time?”
At Han Sang Ja’s words, Bu Eunseol gazed toward the Distant Sky and spoke.
“I merely live each day as if it were only that single day.”
His voice carried a profound and desolate loneliness.
“Each day, I live only that one day.”
Only then did Han Sang Ja grasp the meaning behind Bu Eunseol’s words,
“Quite similar indeed.”
He nodded with an expression both subtle and impressed.
“Certainly, with such a mindset, one can accomplish what others deem impossible.”
Han Sang Ja’s gaze fixed upon the Distant Sky, his eyes profound and unfathomable—it was impossible to discern what thoughts occupied his mind or where exactly he was looking.
“Ha ha.”
Sensing Bu Eunseol’s unwavering stare, he chuckled dryly before speaking in a loud voice.
“Since time grows desperately short now… shall we begin without further delay?”
Bu Eunseol felt a tremor of unease at Han Sang Ja’s demeanor.
‘There seems to be some hidden agenda lurking beneath the surface.’
In an undertaking where one wagered their very life, even the most audacious would inevitably grow solemn.
Yet Han Sang Ja proceeded as though this matter held no personal consequence for him—his bearing relaxed, even cheerful.
‘It matters not.’
Bu Eunseol shook her head.
This was not the moment for such doubts.
I had to eliminate the Executor in this opportunity, or else I would be forced to abandon Gangho entirely.
* * *
For ten consecutive days, Han Sang Ja labored without sleep,
installing fifteen of the supreme formation techniques transmitted from Hyeonja Forest across the vast Plains Region.
The work proved arduous beyond measure, so the exceptional talents of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong’s disciples aided in its completion.
The formation, now complete, proved true to Han Sang Ja’s bold proclamation:
it was so formidable that neither Bu Eunseol nor any force could breach it.
Even successive deployments of harmony rivaling Mujuk Realm’s power could not easily shatter it.
Moreover, it could withstand all manner of extraordinary abilities, so even if the Executor employed strange sorcery, it could be countered.
Most crucially, the two formations were interconnected, so that if one came under attack, the other would detect it immediately,
allowing Bu Eunseol to respond instantaneously.
‘Extraordinary.’
Even Bu Eunseol, who had confronted countless formations throughout her life,
found Han Sang Ja’s formation bewilderingly intricate and remarkably potent.
It rivaled the formation that Cheon Ki Sung had once installed in Cheonshim Valley,
the one that had ensnared both her and Gong Son Dan Gyeong using Gwon In.
‘This is no inherited formation.’
Having shattered countless formations, Bu Eunseol could be called Gangho’s foremost expert in formation-breaking.
Without question, the formation Han Sang Ja had erected was not one passed down through generations of Hyeonja Forest, nor was it a reinterpretation of existing techniques.
It was undoubtedly an entirely new formation, unprecedented in existence.
‘At this level… does he not surpass even the Chief’s mastery?’
Gong Son Dan Gyeong’s formation expertise rivaled Gong Sun Hwa Wook’s, and her intellect was second to none.
Every endeavor Han Sang Ja undertook
proved so exceptional as to astonish even Bu Eunseol, revolutionary and innovative beyond all precedent.
“Now I shall install a formation to conceal my presence.”
Han Sang Ja’s reason for assisting Bu Eunseol was simple.
To confirm the existence of the Executor—a being whose nature had remained shrouded in mystery until now.
The moment either of the two formations collapsed, he needed to rush forward and observe it immediately.
For this purpose, he had begun installing formations to conceal his own presence.
“I must not only hide my aura perfectly, but also sense the moment either formation crumbles. Therefore, I propose to install a different type of formation.”
Han Sang Ja made a rather unconventional request.
“Lend me thirty-two martial artists—either from Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong or under Ryeong Ju’s command. I need them to establish the Ghost Void Boundless Formation.”
The Ghost Void Boundless Formation.
It was a formation that used humans as materials, reversing the natural order and returning all things to their primordial state—
a technique unique to Hyeonja Forest alone.
“I cannot permit the use of human lives as formation materials under any circumstances.”
Bu Eunseol spoke with unwavering resolve.
“They could become puppets if the Executor’s power manifests.”
“Rest assured. Such a thing will not occur.”
“But there exists the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, does there not?”
Bu Eunseol spoke with unwavering resolve.
“I cannot stake the lives of thirty-two people as collateral.”
“This formation alone possesses the essence of Extreme Heaven Mixed Origin.”
Han Sang Ja shrugged his shoulders.
“And what work can be accomplished without accepting such risks?”
“The risks must be borne by us alone.”
“Then this matter must end here.”
Han Sang Ja’s eyes appeared to gleam with the same purity as Geuk Hye Bin’s,
yet an uncanny fervor continuously emanated from within.
Though he seemed naive, he was a sage of Hyeonja Forest.
When it came to unraveling truth, he possessed a madness willing to accept any sacrifice.
“I have no interest in whether this endeavor succeeds or fails.”
Han Sang Ja spoke with cold detachment.
“I merely wish to know whether the Executor is truly a supernatural being, or merely a subordinate of some mysterious force that even Ben Rim could not locate. That is all that intrigues me.”
“I understand.”
“Then I shall employ an alternative method.”
Han Sang Ja spoke in a low voice.
“Such matters can be resolved with money, after all.”
“You intend to hire wandering mercenaries?”
“Precisely.”
Han Sang Ja replied calmly.
“The martial artists who serve as materials for the Ghost Void Boundless Formation need only possess internal energy exceeding the first rank. There is no necessity for Ryeong Ju’s subordinates or disciples of Mu Ha Soo Yu Jeong.”
From a certain perspective, it was a rational judgment.
Yet Bu Eunseol could not bring herself to resolve this matter by wagering not only her own subordinates’ lives, but also the lives of innocent wanderers.
“That is also unacceptable.”
“This is quite a significant constraint.”
Han Sang Ja sighed heavily.
Bu Eunseol actually cared about the lives of mere wanderers?
“Ryeong Ju. Wanderers are people who trade their very lives for coin to survive.”
“….”
“Among them, many believe that if you offer enough money, they can sacrifice their lives at any moment. Simply choose from among them, would you not?”
Yet Bu Eunseol’s expression remained unchanged.
Of course, she disliked the idea of paying wanderers to undertake tasks that could easily cost them their lives.
But she had instinctively sensed that Han Sang Ja harbored some other intention.
‘Yet I cannot discern what it is.’
As Bu Eunseol wore a troubled expression, Han Sang Ja spoke.
“If you truly despise it, then this matter ends here. I cannot offer further assistance.”
Han Sang Ja’s true purpose was to witness with his own eyes the truth of the Executor.
Without that, there was no reason for him to aid Bu Eunseol.
“And if I may offer counsel, one must always weigh priority and importance in all matters.”
“I understand.”
“You understand? Yet you speak such words while knowing that if this matter goes unresolved, those dear to you could suffer grievous harm?”
His words were not wrong.
If I failed to resolve this matter with the Executor now, I could lose precious companions at any time in the future.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
As Han Sang Ja turned to depart,
“Wait.”
After much deliberation, Bu Eunseol nodded.
“Very well. I shall dispatch thirty-two martial masters from the Intelligence Organization under my command.”
“Then it seems you must make me a promise.”
Han Sang Ja spoke with absolute resolve.
“That you will not resent me, no matter what transpires.”
“I will not resent you.”
The elite of Sa Hon Dae were the full strength I had cultivated with every ounce of my power.
Moreover, having partially mastered the formation array created by Yu Woon Ryong—the Sim An Gyeong, which could unfold the Mental World—
Even in the worst circumstances, I should be able to escape with my life.
“Good.”
Han Sang Ja received confirmation once more.
“Then please make me this vow.”
His face bore no trace of a smile.
“Swear to me here and now that you will not resent my choices, whatever may come to pass.”
‘There is certainly something more to this.’
He was not asking me not to resent him, but rather not to resent his choices?
Moreover, his expression was so resolute, as though he would not proceed until he heard such an oath.
‘Hmm.’
Even Bu Eunseol, whose wisdom never failed her with anyone, could not fathom Han Sang Ja’s heart.
‘I still cannot discern his true intentions.’
I could only vaguely sense that Han Sang Ja harbored no malice toward me.
“I swear this oath: whatever consequences arise from this matter, I shall harbor no resentment.”
“Excellent.”
Han Sang Ja nodded with a satisfied expression upon hearing the oath.
“If we succeed, one of Murim’s greatest secrets shall be unveiled.”
Han Sang Ja’s eyes gleamed as though they held captured starlight.
It seemed he was thrilled at the prospect of confirming the true nature of the Executor.
‘With such a fervent spirit of inquiry, it makes sense he would enter Hyeonja Forest.’
The sages of that place—if they could uncover truth, if they could solve mysteries yet unknown to the world—
they were a rather perilous breed willing to risk anything.
‘None of that matters. I need only eliminate the Executor.’
I must find the Executor as swiftly as possible.
To prevent further harm to those around me, I must end their wickedness once and for all.
Two months had passed since the Executor’s attack, and at last the day Man Wol had prophesied arrived.
Within the formation Han Sang Ja had constructed, Geuk Hye Bin began to envelop my spiritual essence with her own energy.
It was Geuk Hye Bin’s spiritual essence—possessing its own unique resonance, yet warm and pure.
Hum.
As our spiritual essences synchronized perfectly, a faint luminescence flowed from both our bodies.
“I pray for your success.”
I nodded at Han Sang Ja’s words.
Then, gazing at Geuk Hye Bin, I spoke with tenderness.
“Nothing shall go amiss. Do not worry—simply wait for my return.”
Synchronized with Geuk Hye Bin’s warm spiritual essence, I displayed a smile more gentle and affectionate than ever before.
“Yes.”
As Geuk Hye Bin answered brightly, I soared into the air in one fluid motion.
Then, unfurling my lightness technique with speed, I dashed across the terrain.
After covering some six hundred li, I immediately entered the formation Han Sang Ja had prepared beforehand.
Light then poured from all directions, and my surroundings grew hazy.
“Truly wondrous.”
Now I understood anew why the sages of Hyeonja Forest
could investigate even the leaders of Murim’s various factions.
Concealment arts that allowed infiltration anywhere, and deceptions that could fool anyone.
And strange techniques unknown to Murim, along with mysterious knowledge.
To obtain even a single strategist from Hyeonja Forest
was to gain benefits exceeding that of acquiring an entire intelligence organization.
‘The Hyeonja Forest of old had reason to walk down a misguided path.’
Stagnant water grows foul.
Once one grasps the staff of power, one yearns to wield it.
Generally speaking, the sages known to the world
are merely regarded as wise individuals possessing exceptional learning and wisdom.
Yet the true sages of Hyeonja Forest possessed martial prowess rivaling any master of Murim, along with mysterious knowledge beyond measure.
Ultimately, they sought to artificially create Cheon Ki Sung, the King of Sages, by wielding that power and knowledge.
And in doing so, they walked the path toward their own destruction.
As my thoughts grew tangled, I shook my head.
‘For now, I should focus only on the Executor.’
I had never harbored interest in the mysterious forces of Murim that remained unknown to the world.
What they did was of no concern to me.
Yet simply because they grew stronger faster than others,
wielding incomprehensible laws as justification,
I could no longer tolerate an existence that threatened the lives of those around me—not my own.
“To uphold laws, they arbitrarily….”
In that moment of quiet murmuring, a flash of insight struck through my mind.
Only then did I grasp what Han Sang Ja had truly desired.
“To uphold the laws….”
The Executor’s purpose was ultimately to ‘preserve’ the laws.
And to safeguard those laws?
Their true nature must never be revealed.
―That will not come to pass.
Han Sang Ja had, strangely enough,
assured both Geuk Hye Bin and myself that no great calamity would befall us.
Yet merely to evade the Executor’s assault, he deployed the Gwi Yu Mujuk Formation using thirty-two humans as material,
and in doing so, displayed an attitude that the lives of martial masters could not be guaranteed.
‘He had become the bait.’
Now I understood.
The Executor was
truly a mysterious existence possessing the power to manipulate humans.
If such a being existed,
then surely one who sought to uncover its existence and discern its true nature
would be deemed far more threatening than one who merely rejected the laws.
―I ask that you swear here and now that you will not resent your choice, no matter what transpires.
Han Sang Ja’s voice suddenly echoed in my ears as if from a distant memory.
The choice he spoke of was precisely that I would become the bait.
And the reason was singular.
‘To summon not the Executor, but something far greater.’
Even if I were to eliminate the Executor, another could arrive in its place.
But if I were to shatter the Executor’s secrets, or commit an act that would topple their laws,
then it would not be merely the Executor
but the one who manages the Executor, or the one who governs these laws, who might very well appear.
Han Sang Ja was willing to stake his very life.
He intended to summon someone who could clearly explain the existence of the Executor and possessed the authority to break free from the Covenant.
Only then could this matter be resolved.
Zing.
At that moment, an extraordinarily strange sensation flowed from within the formation.
It was an unfamiliar, somewhat unpleasant sensation—as if something within my body were being pulled toward it.
‘These fifteen layered formations must also be a method to merge my qi with Geuk Hye Bin’s.’
The reason Han Sang Ja, whose lightness technique was not particularly swift, sought to verify the Executor.
He had deliberately established the formation at the midpoint between Geuk Hye Bin and himself, waiting there.
The reasoning was that they couldn’t know which of the two locations the real one would arrive at.
But perhaps it was truly meant to—
Draw Bu Eunseol and Geuk Hye Bin’s qi toward himself from within the formation.
Whether the Executor came or the one managing the Executor came.
They had to be lured toward the location where an unbreakable formation was installed.
‘For a fundamental resolution.’
Han Sang Ja was not merely a curious young sage.
From the moment he devised this stratagem.
He had been attempting to summon someone who could fundamentally resolve or explain the problem of the Covenant itself.
Yet knowing that Bu Eunseol would never consent if she discovered he was the bait… he had concealed it.
‘Was he truly the successor to lead Hyeonja Forest’s future?’
Hyeonja Forest had artificially created Cheon Ki Sung, and Gwi Jin Ja had called it a ‘calamity.’
If Chu So were absolute evil?
Then surely they would have sought to cultivate a virtuous yet extraordinary divine being capable of opposing him.
The thought occurred to me that perhaps that was Han Sang Ja.
“But this plan is far too dangerous.”
If a terrifying figure of the caliber commanding the Executor were to appear there?
Bu Eunseol herself might manage to encounter him.
But the thirty-two Sa Hon Dae members who had lured him there.
And Han Sang Ja—they had no probability of survival.
Crackle.
Bu Eunseol attempted to escape beyond the formation’s boundary.
But as if to prevent my exit, strange flames erupted from the formation.
An incomprehensible transparent wall blocked my path.
These fifteen layered formations.
Were said to possess the function of neutralizing any force pouring in from the outside.
But now I could see that Han Sang Ja had subtly reversed the formation’s orientation.
So that Bu Eunseol could not easily escape.
“Han Brother.”
Sigh.
With a sigh, Bu Eunseol drew the Muk Hon Sword.
“Did you truly distrust me so much?”
If I could not break through the formation that Han Sang Ja had set up?
Bu Eunseol would have also thought that arriving there would likely cost her life.
Therefore, to ensure he would not lose his life in vain, I took measures once more.
Kiiiiing.
In an instant, five-colored radiance bloomed and concentrated upon the Muk Hon Sword,
Flash!
Pa Cheon Hwang’s power shook the formation.
He had used harmony.
Flash! Flash!
Though he layered harmony three times in succession, there was no sign of it crumbling.
Not to let in those approaching from outside, but rather to confine those within.
A formation even more fortified on the inside had been constructed.
“Is my understanding of formations still insufficient?”
The formations Han Sang Ja had deployed could be called the essence of Hyeonja Forest.
Even Gong Son Dan Gyeong would not have noticed the formation’s peculiarity.
Yet Bu Eunseol was blaming herself for her own inadequacy.
“Huff, huff.”
With labored breathing, I forcibly suppressed the pain wracking my entire body.
Releasing harmony consecutively had strained my body.
“There is no need to destroy it completely.”
A sudden thought flashed through my mind, and I concentrated my power once more.
“Surely they created a formation that cannot be destroyed from within.”
Saaaa.
A faint mist began to rise around Bu Eunseol’s body.
“Extremely naturally… I need only create a space for my body to slip through.”
A moment of crisis.
Layering harmony upon the Gangho Yeon School’s technique that renders all things into their natural state.
I had instantly created a new technique.
Kurrrrr.
Space twisted, and a pulsing vibration echoed from the walls and floor.
The interior space began to emit brilliant fragments like a collapsing star,
Kukukuku.
It began to convulse as though an earthquake had struck.
Simultaneously, crimson light, cyan light, violet light and other five-colored flashes began to dance across Bu Eunseol’s body.
Kwarrrrr.
Space twisted once more, slowly,
Kwang!
A tremendous sound erupted from within the formation,
Shwiiik shwiiik!
A wave of destruction that seemed to obliterate the entire world rippled outward.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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